Ma Shengli said, “No need to wait. Once he enters the laboratory, he loses all track of time. He won’t come out unless something important happens.”
Lin Yunshi asked with concern, “Isn’t he worried about ruining his health like this?”
Ma Shengli replied, “He’s been like this since his first day at the Research Institute. That’s why he’s so thin and so skilled in research and development. But this time, his wife prepared some provisions for him, and he brought some into the laboratory.”
Lin Yunshi nervously asked Ma Shengli, “Is he on good terms with that fat woman?”
Ma Shengli was about to head to the cafeteria. As he walked out, he said, “Their relationship isn’t good, but Lu Changfeng won’t divorce her. Probably because of the child!”
Lin Yunshi thought to herself, “I’m prettier than that fat woman. As long as I’m considerate, Lu Changfeng will surely be moved. What man doesn’t like a gentle and caring woman?”
After finishing her meal, she thoughtfully bought lunch for Lu Changfeng at the cafeteria and brought it over.
But even by the time she returned to work in the afternoon, Lu Changfeng still hadn’t emerged from the laboratory.
Disappointed, she went back. Ma Shengli took the lunch into the laboratory and handed it to Lu Changfeng, saying with a smile, “Look how much Comrade Lin cares about you.”
Lu Changfeng couldn’t be bothered. “Throw it away for me. People who don’t know better might spread rumors.”
Food was precious in those days, and Ma Shengli couldn’t bear to waste it. “I’ll eat it tonight. It’ll save me some money.”
…
As soon as Su Wanqing returned to the office from the factory administration, Secretary Tang briefed her on the secretary’s duties. “Our work as secretaries mainly consists of three parts: writing tasks, coordination work, and administrative duties. I’ll explain the specifics in detail as we encounter them.”
“Alright, thank you!” Su Wanqing expressed her sincere gratitude.
Secretary Tang wasn’t sure about her writing skills, so he gave her a stack of materials and asked her to write a summary of the third quarter’s work.
It was due by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.
The materials weren’t complicated, mainly covering the machinery factory’s production progress and export status for the third quarter.
She needed to compile and summarize this data. If she had Excel, it would have taken just two hours.
But now, she had to do it manually, calculating everything herself.
Fortunately, as an engineering graduate, this kind of data compilation was simple for her.
After tallying all the data and creating bar charts, she went to Secretary Tang to request materials from the second quarter and the third quarter of the previous year.
Secretary Tang asked curiously, “What do you need these for?”
Su Wanqing replied, “To calculate month-on-month and year-on-year data. It’ll make the summary much clearer.”
In the 1980s, work summaries were mostly text-based. Su Wanqing’s approach was something Secretary Tang had never seen before, and he thought she was just showing off her knowledge.
As a seasoned office veteran, he was secretly resentful of Director Wang suddenly hiring a secretary but didn’t dare voice it. Since Su Wanqing was digging her own grave, he decided to let her.
“I’ll find them for you after lunch.”
Su Wanqing couldn’t tell whether this old fox harbored goodwill or hostility toward her, so she politely replied, “Alright, thank you, Secretary Tang.”
She then organized the documents and headed to the cafeteria for lunch.
At that time, the cafeteria food was rather plain, mostly vegetarian dishes, as people were reluctant to spend money on meat.
Following the principles of the 211 diet for weight loss, Su Wanqing ordered one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and a serving of rice, which cost forty-five cents.
As she was eating, a sharp voice rang out above her head: “You fat woman, what are you doing in our factory?”
Su Wanqing looked up and saw a stylishly dressed, pretty young woman.
Her memories told her this was Du Minjia, the daughter of Lu Changfeng’s superior.
Back in the Family Compound, she had caused the original host plenty of trouble.
The book described how she would later become a stumbling block between the male and female leads. She was very fond of Lu Changfeng and had asked her father to arrange a match, but Lu Changfeng showed no interest.
Su Wanqing said coldly, “What’s it to you? Is the machinery factory yours? Director Wang invited me here. Do I need to report to you?”
Du Minjia was a clerk in the administration department and always considered herself superior. She never expected Su Wanqing to be even more impressive—personally hired by the factory director.
Her face turned pale. “I thought you sneaked in to scam a free meal.”
Her eyes darted around, and she pointed at Su Wanqing’s food, scolding, “You’re already so fat, yet you’re eating three dishes.”
“Idiot!” Su Wanqing couldn’t help but retort. “How many dishes I eat is none of your business. Lu Changfeng is willing to support me, and I’m not eating your family’s food.”
Mentioning Lu Changfeng made Du Minjia’s heart ache even more. She had finally persuaded her father to convince Lu Changfeng to divorce, but now he refused.
“You fat woman, Brother Changfeng has grown so thin, yet you eat like a pig. How can you have the nerve?”
Su Wanqing sneered, “Why should I feel ashamed? This is a matter between my husband and me. What does it have to do with an outsider like you? You, an unmarried girl, why are you so concerned about my man?”
The people nearby understood what Su Wanqing meant—she was telling Du Minjia not to covet Lu Changfeng.
In this era, being a mistress led to no good end.
Du Minjia was left speechless by her retort, her face flushed red as she walked away resentfully.
However, her coworker Xia Yue, who was nearby, reminded her, “Her father is your husband’s superior. Aren’t you afraid she’ll go home and complain, then make things difficult for your husband?”
Xia Yue had entered the machinery factory at the same time as the original host and had a good relationship with her.
Her family circumstances were poor: her parents were in poor health, and her younger brother was in high school, leaving the entire family’s burden on her shoulders.
Su Wanqing said, “I already spared her some face. Otherwise, I would have exposed her obsession with Lu Changfeng.”
Xia Yue smiled. “After staying home for a few years, how have you changed so much?”
Back then, when the original host gave her job to Su Jianjun, Xia Yue had tried to persuade her for a long time, saying that a woman needed a job to stand on her own feet. But the original host wouldn’t listen and even accused Xia Yue of being jealous of her kindness to her brother.
Su Wanqing said, “Well, Lu Changfeng wants to divorce me, so I have no choice but to change.”
Xia Yue was shocked. “What? Lu Changfeng wants to divorce you? Has he taken a liking to Du Minjia?”
Su Wanqing shook her head. “Not at all.” In the book, Lu Changfeng only liked Lin Yunshi; Du Minjia had nothing to do with it.
“She urged her father to persuade Lu Changfeng to divorce me, but Lu Changfeng gave me three months. If I don’t change, he’ll go through with it.”
Xia Yue said, “Then you really need to take this seriously. Raising three children alone would be too difficult for you. Lu Changfeng is good-looking and comes from a good family. Plenty of people have their eyes on him.”
In these times, there was no such thing as alimony after a divorce.
Su Wanqing said, “Yes, thank you!”
Noticing how thin and frail Xia Yue looked and that she was only eating one vegetable dish, Su Wanqing stood up and got two meat dishes for her.
Xia Yue was stunned. “That’s too expensive—it costs forty cents!”
“It’s fine. Lu Changfeng helped me get back all the money I gave to the Su Family over the years. You don’t have to go hungry anymore. If you’re in trouble, just let me know.”
Xia Yue was moved to tears. “Thank you. It’s not easy for you to raise three children alone. I won’t trouble you.”
Xia Yue was genuinely simple and honest. The book didn’t describe her in much detail, and Su Wanqing didn’t know her outcome either.
However, she was happy to befriend people of good character.
The two chatted and laughed as they ate their meal.
Not far away, Su Daqiang and Su Jianjun watched Su Wanqing serve Xia Yue two meat dishes, so furious they nearly snapped their chopsticks in their grip.
Su Jianjun said, “Dad, look at her wasting our family’s money.”
Su Daqiang was also grinding his teeth in anger. “I saw it. After work, I’ll make her pay.”
He already had a full plan in mind to deal with Su Wanqing.